Thanks to the evolving concept of the family as a unit, the issue of non-biological parent custody rights is rising. Traditionally, the courts only had to decide the parenting rights between two biological parents. Today, stepparents, relatives, and other family friends are all just as likely to step into the parental role for children.
In most situations, the biological parent will enjoy special rights to child custody over a non-biological parent. Nevertheless, in some instances, the court may still grant custody rights to the non-biological parent—even over the objections of the biological mother or father. These types of child custody court hearings are almost always complicated, which is why it is vital to work with a custody lawyer in Hernando County, FL.
If the court finds the biological parent unfit or unavailable to care for the child, then it may award a non-biological parent custody. In general, the court will look at how much time the non-biological parents have shared with the child before any decisions are made.
Since biological parents often have an advantage over non-biological parents, you will always want to work with an experienced attorney when it comes to these types of custody battles. An attorney will be able to illustrate the reasons why the non-biological parent is the right fit for the child in a way that the court will better understand.
